Valkenburg Off The Beaten Path Tips by tompt Top 5 Page for this destination

Kasteel Schaloen

The next stop is at the other side of the river. A lane with enormous birch trees leads you to Kasteel Schaloen.

It dates back to the 13th century and is restyled in 1656. The other buildings on the site are used as a hotel. So looking for something different to stay in.......

Other Contact: info@kasteelschaloen.nl

Phone: 043- 4591417

French Mill looking like new

During our visit in march 2007 we were surprised by the progress of the restoration. THe entire building is looking brandnew now. It is not open to the public, but that can't take long anymore.

The roof is ready

In april 2005 it was absolutely clear they did a lot of work. The roof was ready, new tiles and it looked waterproof..
Looking forward to see the french mill in mint condition!

Old Hickory bridge

This small bridge marks the spot where the allied forces first crossed the Geul on their way to free Valkenburg and the rest of our country in september 1944. The 120th Rgt. of the 30th Infantry Division (Old Hickory) of the 19th Corps of the First US Army was the regiment that freed Valkenburg and therefor this bridge is called Old Hickory bridge. It is located next to kasteel Halder.

More about the liberation of Valkenburg can be found at the website mentioned below.

Website: http://www.aachen-webdesign.de/eng/bevrijding.htm

A monument of war

The Bronsdael Groeve, just walk further along the Geul in the direction of Meerssen, is a monument of the second world war.

In 1944 the Germans started to spread their industries over a wider area in Europe, amongst others in Valkenburg. In july 1944 the 1500 dutch people were forced to work in Valkenburg. Under codename Valerie15 work started to build a repair-station for BMW 801 aircraft-engines. In September it was ready. Full capacity was planned for october/november, but it never got that far, because this area was freed in september by the Americans. All that is left now is concrete, lots of concrete. Legend has it that this was a launching base for V2 boms, but that is probably just a legend.

Oxes along the Geul

As said in the previous tip there is also a herd of oxes (scottish highlanders) here. They do come across the water and sometimes block your way on the footpath.
This highlanders also are here to keep the grass short and make the reserve as natural as possible again.

Herds along the Geul

In this picture you see some of the horses that roam the Ingendael nature reserve.
The horses are Polish Koniks, a small Polish horse, kind of wild pony. The koniks are good grazers. They keep the landscape open and a natural forest will evolve.

There is also a herd of oxes wich you can see in the next picture.

De drie beeldjes (the three statues)

This three statues are made in 1739. The lord of the nearby Kasteel Schaloen had them built because the castle was haunted by the evil ghost Ruprecht.

The original statues were stolen in 1968 and in 1973 they were replaced by this concrete replicas made by Sjef Eymael.

restoration is in progress !

It is september 2004 and when we walked along the Franse Molen we saw they started the restoration. Can't wait untill it is finished....

The firm Coppes from Houthem started the restoration of the “meule van Cassel” , or Franse Molen. The restoration was planned 10 years ago, but there were problems between the municipality, the owners and Monumentenzorg. The builder Coppes bought the mill 3 years ago and it looked like it was going to be restored. But a conflict with a neighbouring hotel about their right to have an emergency exit across the mill grounds stopped the process. They went to court and things were settled, in two years from now the mill should be restored. So come and see it for yourself in 2006.

French mill (Franse Molen)

A ruin, but this once was a proud watermill.
Built in 1804 by the frenchmen Bertrand Loisel. Hench the name French mill.
It was restored in 1861, and got a new wheel in 1876. It was used as a grainmill untill 1962. Today it is a ruin, with fences around it to prevent accidents.
Hopefully someone with money will renovate it and restore it to its old splendour soon, before it is no longer possible to save it.

address: Lindelaan 32